Milan Community Schools welcomes new teachers

Milan Community School Corporation starts their new school year with new faces in the staff. Along with having Dan Goris as their new School Resource Officer, the school welcomes teachers: Samantha Geary, Shelby Rowland, Daniel Harm, Brenda Walter, Chelsy Holyoke, Sydney Smith and Jesse Baugh.

Other staff include the approval of Natasha Bushorn, elementary school secretary/treasurer; Amber Lopez, elementary school nurse; Melissa Lows, intermediate school special education aide; Harley Bruns, high school library aide; and Michelle Hosmer, substitute secretary scheduler.

Extra-curricular recommendations that were approved at the July meeting include: Rebecca Wilhelm, high school yearbook sponsor; April Poole, reserve volleyball coach; Hannah Lohrum, freshman volleyball coach; Avery Getz and Paige Simon for middle school volleyball coaches to cover maternity leaves; Carter Wade, boys tennis volunteer coach; and Ryan Langferman, varsity football coach.

Also approved were: Bryan Beeler, Zach Hensel, Kyle Sabol, varsity football assistant coaches; Mike Brandes, Doug Norman, Tony Pennington, Jeff Sharp, Sam Simpkins, Tim Jutzi, John Halcomb and Cliff Willoughby as varsity football volunteers. Jim Betz and Matt McKeown, middle school football coaches and Jeff Poole and Kris Brown, middle school football volunteers.

In other business:
Jeff Qualkinbush presented a resolution to the board preliminarily approving the Third Amendment to Lease for a Public Hearing and Related Matters regarding the last phase of the building renovations. The addition of a weight/locker room to the gym lobby is the project up for discussion.

Superintendent Jane Rogers was granted permission to advertise, interview and hire any vacant positions between the July meeting the August board meeting.
The pay rate for bus drivers will increase at the beginning of the year. This will keep the corporation competitive with other local schools.

The Athletic Handbook for the 2022-23 school year will remain the same as last year. The Academic Handbook was approved with changes to the high school curriculum guide as submitted by School Counselor Zarah Hileman. The changes included the addition of classes as well as removing classes no longer offered.

Under discussion:
The Board was given the budget calendar for planning next year’s budget. In September, a public hearing will be held with approval being requested at the October meeting.

An update on the building projects was provided: the roof project for the intermediate, middle and high schools is now complete with a 30-year-warranty. The new maintenance shop/concession stand area has also been completed. The multi-purpose field is nearing completion and the foundation for the gym lobby project has been poured.

Stephanie Schwing-Stamper gave an update on the second Summer Camp the school completed. It ran for seven weeks Monday through Thursday with various themes weekly. The camp was supported by the REACH Grant, Duke Energy Grant, community businesses, churches and community partners.

Supt. Rogers noted that the Rising Sun Regional Foundation awarded a $4,960 grant to the school’s robotics program to update the VEX equipment for competitions. Also, the Ripley County Sheriff’s Department will work with SRO Dan Goris to hold a safety training at the school.

Carol Schmidt, who was named JAG Specialist of the Year and is the JAG Coordinator for the school, was recognized. She gave a brief description of how the program works for the board members and audience.

Editor’s Note: This article was taken from unofficial minutes from the July meeting of the Milan Community School Corporation Board of Trustees.